From The Ashes (The Ministry of Curiosities #6)(88)

Cook looked as if he was about to spit back a response, but a glare from Lincoln shut his mouth.

"Have you two discussed costumes yet?" Lady Vickers asked Alice and me. "The ball is only a week away. We must get started on outfits."

An old friend of Lady Vickers' had invited us to a masquerade ball to welcome in the new year. It would be my first in costume, and Alice's too. We were both looking forward to it.

"Princesses," Seth announced. "They should both go as princesses, with highly distinctive masks so we can find them easily amongst the sea of ladies."

"You can't tell the ladies apart if you can't see their faces?" Lincoln asked with genuine curiosity.

"Er." Seth's cheeks reddened. "Of course I can. Some. Usually."

"Let's hope Lady Harcourt decides to stay home," Lady Vickers said, lifting her gaze to meet mine. "Apparently she has been invited." It was a warning, and one I appreciated. I gave her a nod of thanks.

Not that I was concerned about her hold over Lincoln. She had none. Yet her unpleasant waspishness could prove trying and I wanted to avoid her, if possible.

I touched Lincoln's knee beneath the table and he rested his hand over mine. We'd spent the morning hanging ornaments, paper flowers, and little bags of nuts on the tree in the entrance hall with Alice and Lady Vickers, while Seth, Gus and Doyle helped Cook with the meal preparations. The men had already wound ivy and mistletoe up the staircase rail and along the fireplace mantels, giving Lichfield a festive feel. Enjoying dinner altogether, with Lincoln at my side, was more than I'd hoped for mere days before. A year ago…well, I'd hardly allowed myself to hope that I'd ever experience a joyous Christmas again. It had seemed an impossibility.

As if he knew the direction of my thoughts, Lincoln squeezed my hand. "I'm sorry I didn't have a gift prepared for you," he said, picking up his glass. "But a rather abrasive nurse wouldn't allow me to leave the house. I didn't dare counter her."

"That abrasive nurse doesn't need another gift, thank you." My smile faded. I indicated the others, sitting around the table, talking quietly to one another. "This is all I want. Besides, I didn't get you anything either. I've been busy with a recalcitrant patient who doesn't like to rest."

He placed his arm across the back of my chair and leaned closer. His lips brushed my ear, his fingers skimmed my shoulder. It was as much an announcement to the others as it was an intimate move. "You gave me everything, Charlie. Everything."



THE END